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7:29 PM,
Mar. 23, 2013

Actress Mariska Hargitay, of 'Law and Order Special Victims Unit.'

Written by

Kathleen
Parker

W Mariska Hargitay, better known as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" Detective Olivia Benson, is the human intersection of life and art.

Precisely, the line between the fictional role she plays and the role she has carved out in real life is approximately a hair's breadth. The passion television viewers witness on the popular crime show - the rage, the disgust, that curled lip, the twitching eye - may be part of the actor's toolbox, but it's no act.

Philosophically, at least, Olivia and Mariska are one and the same. This much was clear when Hargitay visited Washington recently to launch her ...